Domestic

Former Presidential Secretaries Found Guilty of Receiving NIS Funds

Write : 2018-07-12 15:48:11Update : 2018-07-12 16:37:51

A Seoul court has found guilty three former presidential secretaries for ex-President Park Geun-hye who were indicted on charges of receiving illicit funds from the National Intelligence Service(NIS) on the order of the ousted ex-leader.

The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday sentenced former presidential secretary for general affairs Lee Jae-man to one-and-a-half years in prison and former secretary for public relations Ahn Bong-geun to two-and-a-half years in prison.

The court also slapped a fine of 27 million won on Ahn, who allegedly pocketed some of the NIS special funds for personal use.

Jeong Ho-seong, another former secretary, was sentenced to ten months in prison suspended for two years.

The three men were known as the "Doorknob Trio" aides for ousted President Park, as they were said to be so close to the former leader that they held the doorknob to her door.

They were indicted for their involvement in a scheme which saw Park secure three-and-a-half billion won in special activity funds from the NIS chiefs between May 2013 and September 2016.